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(Derby Evening Telegraph (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) THE best original computer games created from scratch by University of Derby students during a 48-hour, non-stop design session will feature in a public exhibition next week.

Sixty students from all years of the university's computing degree programmes will compete in teams to design a game from start to finish, starting at 5pm tomorrow and finishing at 5pm on Sunday.

Competitors will work to titles randomly generated by clicking on a video game name-generating website, which has been known to give such titles as Invisible Bongo Smuggler and Urban Spelling Gladiator. All student teams taking part will play and rate each other's prototype games and vote which 15 should have a stand at the university's free event, Games@Derby.

This will be held next Friday, February 8, from 1pm to 5pm in the Atrium at the university's Kedleston Road campus and is being sponsored by global software giant Microsoft. Dr Tommy Thompson, university programme leader for computer games programming, said: "The 48-hour games jams are great fun for students but they also teach them about working in teams of programmers and digital artists, to a deadline and under pressure, just as they will have to do when they graduate and join the industry."
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